What prompted Saudi man to post newspaper ad congratulating Trump?

A Saudi businessman has explained why he congratulated Trump on becoming US president by placing advert in his local newspaper. Muslat al-Sobaie said he believed Donald Trump should be applauded on his achievement.

He explained: “I congratulated him because he has a transparent and charismatic personality, and he is clearly standing strong against Iran, our biggest enemy.”

Sobaie said his announcement came after Saudi’s King Salman congratulated President Trump. He added that he believed Trump’s character was transparent and strong. He said the new president had the Russians’ respect, which he said implied a truce between the two countries was looming, which would be in the interest of all countries.

Speaking about the advert Sobaie said: “I chose a Saudi newspaper because I am a Saudi citizen and this is my message through this announcement.”

The advert read: “I congratulate Your Excellency on the occasion of assuming the leadership of the US and wish you and the friendly American people every success and prosperity during your term.”

Responding to claims that he knew and had met Trump, Sobaie said: “What was said about me knowing Trump, and that I studied with him, is not true at all. I hadn’t heard of him before he ran for the presidency of the United States.”

Sobaie said when the Saudi king congratulated Trump, he decided to do the same, but he denied claims he did so for the fame. Responding to criticism for his advert, he said: “I did not expect all the hysteria and I did not do it for the fame. I stand by what I did.”

The hashtag #Muslat_congratulates_Trump trended on Twitter for three days with more than 200,000 Tweets both in support and against his message.

Sobaie explained that he checked the tweets but said he did not really care about what was written, because the message he wanted to convey may have been misunderstood.

“This is a normal situation in a world heaving with different opinions. There are some who are against our goals, country and interests,” he added.